The present invention relates to a bank-note processing device used for e.g. a vending machine, a money changing machine, a pachinko ball dispenser and a metal token dispenser.
In a main unit of dispensers handling bank-notes (including coupons), a bank-note processing device for judging the genuineness of an inserted bank-note and for storing only bank-notes regarded as genuine is normally equipped.
The bank-note processing device is generally comprised of bank-note transporting means, which guides a bank-note inserted from a bank-note slot to the main body of the unit, bank-note identification means which judges the genuineness of the transported bank-note, bank-note shifting means which sequentially parallel shifts the inserted bank-notes judged as genuine, and a stacker which sequentially stacks and stores the bank-notes parallel shifted via the bank-note transporting means.
FIG. 13 is a conceptual cross-sectional side view of a major portion of a bank-note processing device 1, which the applicant of the present invention proposed in the Japanese Patent Application No. 10-141350.
This bank-note processing device is comprised of a rectangular main body 2, and a front mask 4, where a bank-note slot 3 is formed, is removably attached at the lower part of the front face 2a of the main body 2.
The front mask 4, where the bank-note slot 3 is formed, is attached such that the tip, that is, the bank-note slot 3, is exposed to the outside from a front mask attachment hole formed on a door at the front face of such equipment as a dispenser, which is not illustrated.
A bank-note detection sensor 5 for judging whether a bank-note is inserted from the bank-note slot 3 is disposed directly behind the bank-note slot 3 formed in the front mask 4, and a roughly L-shaped bank-note transporting route 6, which is connected to the bank-note slot 3 and then rises upwards, is disposed in the front mask 4 directly behind the bank-note direction sensor 5 and in the main body of the unit 2. And shutter means 7 for opening/closing the bank-note transporting route 6 is disposed upstream of the bank-note-transporting route 6.
The shutter means 7 is comprised of a motor, which is not illustrated, and a shutter 7a which moves in the horizontal direction shown by the arrow A via the shutter driving means, such as a rack engaging with a pinion gear of the motor.
The bank-note transporting route 6 connected to the bank-note slot 3 is comprised of a horizontal portion 6a, which is roughly parallel with the bank-note insertion direction, and a vertical portion 6b, which rises up roughly in the vertical direction from the end of the horizontal portion 6a. 
The bank-note transporting means 6 for transporting the inserted bank-note upstream along with bank-note transporting route 6 is disposed on the L-shaped bank-note transporting route 6.
This bank-note transporting means 8 is comprised of a looped bank-note transporting belt 9, which is stretched along the horizontal portion 6a and the vertical portion 6b of the bank-note transporting route 6, and belt driving means 10, which is comprised of a motor 9xe2x80x2 and other parts for driving and rotating of the bank-note transporting belt 9.
The belt driving means 10 is also comprised of pulleys 11 and 12 for looping and stretching the bank-note transporting belt 9, and slave pulleys 13 and 14, which are pressed against the cylindrical surface of the pulleys 11 and 12, and an idle pulley for adjusting the tension of the belt is pressed against a part of the bank-note transporting belt 9.
The bank-note identification means 16 comprised of various sensors, including magnetic sensors for judging the genuineness of an inserted bank-note and photo sensors arranged facing each other, is disposed in the vertical portion 6b, which is positioned upstream of the bank-note transporting route 6.
In accordance with this bank-note processing device 1, when a bank-note is inserted into the bank-note slot 3, the bank-note detection sensor 5, which is disposed in the front mask 4, detects the presence of the inserted bank-note, and the inserted bank-note is transported horizontally to the right as shown in the drawing, along the horizontal portion 6a of the bank-note transporting route 6, by the bank-note transporting belt 9 of the bank-note transporting means 8, which rotates counterclockwise, which is the normal rotation, based on the detection signal. When the inserted bank-note passes through the vertical portion 6a of the bank-note-transporting route 6, the genuineness of the inserted bank-note is judged by the bank-note identification means 16 disposed therein.
If the bank-note identification means 16 judges the inserted bank-note as counterfeit, the bank-note transporting belt 9 rotates in reverse (clockwise rotation), so as to return the inserted bank-note back through the bank-note slot 3.
If the bank-note identification means 16 judges the inserted bank-note as genuine, the bank-note transporting belt 9 continues normal rotation based on the detection signal, and the inserted bank-note is transported to the upper part of the main body 2 along the vertical portion 6b of the bank-note transporting route 6.
In the main body 2, bank-note shifting means 21 temporarily houses the bank-note transported via the bank-note transporting means 8, and then parallel shifts the bank-note judged as genuine to the stacker 20.
Even though the details on the structure of the bank-note shifting means 21 are the same in the Japanese Patent Application No. 5-276592, the structure will be briefly explained here.
FIG. 14 is a conceptual plan view of the above mentioned bank-note shifting means 21 viewed from the AA direction in FIG. 13.
This bank-note shifting means 21 is disposed with a predetermined space (a space slightly wider than the width of the bank-notes to be handled) and comprises a pair of rotary drums 22 and 23 which rotate in opposite directions at a same phase, a pair of engaging protrusions 24a and 24b which engage with the engaging concave portions 22a and 23a formed at the center area of the pair of rotary drums 23 and 24, and a stacker chute 24 which rotates at a predetermined angle in the vertical direction of the drawing with a shaft 25 as a center when the rotary drums 22 and 23 make one rotation.
On both sides of the shaft 25, which rotatably supports the stacker chute 24, a pair of pulleys 26 where a pair of bank-note transporting belts 9 constituting the bank-note transporting means 8 (FIG. 13) are looped, are secured. On both sides of the shaft 25, another pair of pulleys 27, constituting the bank-note transporting means 8, are also secured.
On this pair of drive pulleys 27, another pair of bank-note transporting belts 28 are looped respectively, and this pair of bank-note transporting belts 28 loop a pair of pulleys 30 respectively, which are rotatably supported on both sides of the shaft 29 disposed at the tip of the stacker chute 24. Therefore, if the shaft 25 is rotated by the bank-note transporting belt 9, the bank-note transporting belt 28 interlocking with the bank-note transporting belt 9 is driven and rotated at the same time.
According to such a bank-note shifting means 21, a bank-note transporting belts 9 and 28 constituting the bank-note transporting means 8 are driven and rotated counterclockwise, as shown in FIG. 15, which is the conceptual BB cross-sectional view in FIG. 14, and when the inserted bank-note 31 is transported in the arrow C direction via the bank-note transporting route 6 (FIG. 13), the bank-note 31 is inserted into the pair of bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b formed along the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical faces of the rotary drums 22 and 23 of the bank-note shifting means 21, and then the longitudinal side of the inserted bank-note 31 is inserted to the above pair of bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b formed on the rotary drums 22 and 23, as shown in FIG. 16, and is temporarily stored there.
As FIG. 15 shows, the width of the leading ends 22bxe2x80x2 and 23bxe2x80x2 of the pair of bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b is formed slightly wider than the other parts so that both ends of the inserted bank-note 31 in the width direction can be easily guided into the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b. 
In FIG. 13 to FIG. 16, the numeral 32 is a bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever, which is, disposed roughly at the center of the pair of rotary drums 22 and 23.
As FIG. 16 shows, this bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever 32 prevents the bottom end 36a of the bank-note 36 stored in the stacker 20 via the bank-note shifting means 21 from returning to the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b side of the rotary drums 22 and 23, blocking the slits, and this bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever 32 is comprised of a roughly L-shaped lever 34 supported with the shaft 33 as a center such that the lever can freely rotate at a predetermined rotation angle, and a return spring 35 which constantly exerts force on this lever 34 in the counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 15, and the bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever 34 is secured at a position where the tip of the roughly L-shaped lever 34 does not block the leading ends 22bxe2x80x2 and 23bxe2x80x2 of the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b at the initial position shown in FIG. 15.
In FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the numeral 37 is a presser bar which presses the bank-note 36 stored in the stacker 20, and this presser bar 37 constantly exerts force on the external surface of the rotary drums 22 and 23 by the exerting force of the coil spring 38.
In FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the numeral 40 is a return spring whereby one end engages the rear face of the stacker chute 24 and the other end engages a part of the main unit 2 (FIG. 13), and this return spring 40 constantly exerts force on the stacker chute 24 in the counterclockwise direction with the shaft 25 at the center, whereby the pair of engaging protrusions 24a and 24b shown in FIG. 14 are engaged with the corresponding engaging concave portions 22a and 23a of each rotary drum 22 and 23.
Now the operation of the above mentioned bank-note shifting means 21 will be explained.
As FIG. 16 shows, after the inserted bank-note 31, including its rear end 31a, is stored in the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b of the pair of rotary drums 22 and 23, the pair of rotary drums 22 and 23 start rotation in directions which are opposite to each other at a same phase, shown by arrow marks, from the initial positions shown in FIG. 16 via such driving means as a motor, which is not illustrated, based on a detection signal of the detection means, not illustrated, which detects the inserted bank-note 31, then the bank-note 31 inserted in the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b of the rotary drums 22 and 23 is parallel shifted to the stacker 20 side interlocking with the rotation movement of each bank-note guide slit 22b and 23b. 
As soon as the rotary drums 22 and 23 rotate, the engaging concave portions 22a and 23a in FIG. 14 rotate as well, so the stacker chute 24 rotates clockwise with the shaft 25 as the center as shown in FIG. 17 via the pair of engaging protrusions 24a and 24b which engage with those engaging concave portions 22a and 23a, so that the center area of the rear face of the bank-note 31 inserted in the bank-note guide slits 22a and 23b is pressed, and the inserted bank-note 31 is pushed from the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b to the slacker 20 side in parallel so as to store the inserted bank-note 31 overlapping the inserted bank-notes 36 stored in the stacker 20.
At this time, that is, when the inserted bank-note 31 is pushed out of the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b by the stacker chute 24, the bottom end 3 la of the inserted bank-note 31 contacts the tip of the roughly L-shaped lever 34 constituting the bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever 32, and passes through while rotating the lever 34 clockwise with the shaft 33 as the center. Then the lever 34, which contact with the bottom end 31a of the inserted bank-note is released, returns to the initial position (FIG. 15) by the exerting force of the return spring 35.
The rotary drums 22 and 23, on the other hand, maintain rotation even after the inserted bank-note 31 is parallel shifted into the stacker 20, and when the engagement between the engaging concave portions 22a and 23a of the rotary drums and the pair of the engaging protrusions 24a and 24b of the stacker chute 24 (FIG. 14) are released by the rotation of the rotary drums 22 and 23, the stacker chute 24 rotates counterclockwise with the shaft 25 as the center by the exerting force of the return spring 40, and returns to the initial position, as shown in FIG. 18. When the stacker chute 24 returns to the initial position in FIG. 18, the rotary drums 22 and 23 stop rotation and return to the standby position where the next bank-note will be inserted into the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b. 
According to the above mentioned bank-note processing device 1, if the inserted bank-note 31 stored in the stacker 20 by the bank-note shifting means 21 returns toward the bank-note shifting means 21 for any reason, the bottom end 31 of the inserted bank-note 31 contacts the roughly L-shaped lever 34 constituting the reverse-flowing-preventive lever 32 and the return is prevented, as shown in FIG. 18, therefore, the leading ends 22bxe2x80x2 and 23bxe2x80x2 of the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b formed on the rotary drums 22 and 23 are constantly open. As a consequence, the next inserted bank-note can easily be inserted into the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b, by which collision of the bank-note stored first and the bank-note to be stored next is avoided and bank-note jamming can be prevented.
According to the above mentioned conventional bank-note processing device 1, the reverse-flowing-preventive lever 32 prevents the inserted bank-note 31 stored in the stacker 20 from returning to the bank-note shifting means 21 side, therefore the leading ends 22bxe2x80x2 and 23bxe2x80x2 of the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b formed on the rotary drums 22 and 23 are constantly open, so that the next inserted bank-note can easily be inserted into the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b and jamming of the bank-note at the bank-note shifting means 21 can be prevented as much as possible, but when a large number of bank-notes 36 are stored in the stacker 20, particularly when a large number of wrinkled bank-notes are stored in the stacker 20, as shown in the cross-sectional view of the major portion of the bank-note processing device 1 in FIG. 19, air enters among the stacked bank-notes 36, which causes a large swelling at the center area in the width direction of the stored bank-notes.
If a large number of wrinkled bank-notes are stored in the stacker 20 and the center area in the width direction swells as just stated, the rotary drums 22 and 23 rotate as FIG. 20 shows, whereby the stacker chute 24 presses the rear face of the center area of the inserted bank-note 31, and as a result, the bottom end 31a of the inserted bank-note 31 to be parallel shifted to the stacker 20 side does not move, being pressed by the rear ends 36a of the swelled bank-notes 36, and the bottom end 31a of the inserted bank-note 31 stops at a position before the roughly L-shaped lever 34 constituting the bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever 32.
If the bottom end 31a of the inserted bank-note 31 stops at a position before the roughly L-shaped lever 34 constituting the bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever 32, as shown in FIG. 20, the bottom end 31a of the inserted bank-note 31 blocks the leading ends 22bxe2x80x2 and 23bxe2x80x2 of the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b of the rotary drums 22 and 23, as shown in FIG. 21, and as a result, the bank-note transported next collides with the bottom end 31a of the above bank-note 31, blocking the leading ends 22bxe2x80x2 and 23bxe2x80x2 of the bank-note guide slits 22b and 23b, causing bank-note jamming.
Also according to the bank-note transporting means 8 of the above mentioned conventional bank-note processing device 1, the pair of pulleys 26 and 27, where the pair of bank-note transporting belts 9 are looped, are secured on both sides of the shaft 25 which rotatably supports the stacker chute 24, another pair of bank-note transporting belts 28 loop the pair of pulleys 27, and the other ends of the pair of bank-note transporting belts 28 loop the pair of pulleys 30 which are supported by both ends of the shaft 29 disposed at the tip of the stacker chute 24, as shown in FIG. 14, and this complicated structure with many parts becomes the cause of an increase cost in manufacturing.
Also according to the shutter means 7 of the conventional bank-note processing device 1, the pinion formed on the driving shaft of the motor, not illustrated here, is engaged with the rack disposed at the rear end of the shutter 7a, and this pinion is driven and rotated by the motor, as shown in FIG. 13, so that the shutter 7a is moved in the horizontal direction shown by the arrow mark A in FIG. 13, whereby the bank-note transported route 6 is opened/closed.
In this way, the conventional bank-note processing device 1 uses the pinion and the rack as a driving device for opening/closing the shutter 7a, that is, the rotation direction of the pinion is the opposite when the shutter 7a is moved to the right direction shown in FIG. 13 to close the bank-note transporting route 6, and when the shutter 7a is moved to the left direction shown in FIG. 13 to open the bank-note transporting route 6.
This means that the rotating direction of the motor for driving the pinion must be changed as well, therefore the open/close control of the shutter 7a is difficult, and if the sensor, not illustrated here, fails and the closing of the bank-note transporting route 6 by the shutter 7a cannot be detected, then the pinion keeps rotating in the shutter closing direction, and as a result, the shutter 7a and the chute constituting the bank-note transporting route 6 contact, locking the shutter 7a, which will damage the shutter means 7b itself.
With the foregoing in view, the present invention has been made.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a bank-note-processing unit where bank-note jamming will occur as infrequent as possible, even if a large number of wrinkled bank-notes are stored in the stacker.
It is a second object to provide a bank-note-processing unit having a bank-note transporting means which structure is simple, without using many parts.
It is a third object to provide a bank-note-processing unit where the open/close control of the shutter is easy, and the open/close operation of the shutter is stable.
To achieve the first object, a first aspect of the present invention is a bank-note processing device comprising: bank-note shifting means for temporarily inserting a bank-note transported from a bank-note slot and then parallel shifting the bank-note so as to store the bank-note in a stacker, having a pair of rotary drums which rotate in directions opposite from each other at a same phase, bank-note guide slits which are formed in the longitudinal direction of each cylindrical surface of the pair of rotary drums for temporarily inserting the above transported bank-note, and a stacker chute which interlocks with the rotation of the above pair of rotary drums for pushing roughly the center area of the bank-note inserted into the above bank-note guide slits toward the above stacker side; and a bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever which is disposed between the above pair of rotary drums and near the leading ends of the bank-note guide slits for engaging with the bottom end of the bank-note parallel shifted from the bank-note guide slits to the stacker side, so as to prevent the return of the bank-note parallel shifted to the stacker side, characterized in that a stacker lever for pushing a portion positioned at the bank-note reverse-flowing-preventive lever side of the bank-note inserted in the bank-note guide slits toward the stacker side is disposed between the above pair of rotary drums.
To achieve the second object, a second aspect of the present invention is a bank-note processing device comprising: bank-note shifting means for temporarily inserting a bank-note inserted from a bank-note slot and then parallel shifting the bank-note so as to store the bank-note in a stacker, having a pair of rotary drums which rotate in directions opposite from each other at a same phase, bank-note guide slits which are formed in the longitudinal direction of each cylindrical surface of the pair of rotary drums for temporarily inserting the above inserted bank-note, and a stacker chute which interlocks with the rotation of the above pair of rotary drums for pushing roughly the center area of the bank-note inserted in the above bank-note guide slits toward the above stacker side; and bank-note transporting means for transporting the bank-note inserted from the bank-note slot along the bank-note guide slits of the pair of rotary drums, characterized in that the above bank-note transporting means further comprises a shaft disposed adjacent to the free end side of the above stacker chute, a pair of pulleys supported by both ends of the shaft, and a pair of bank-note transporting belts which loop the pair of pulleys respectively, and the pair of bank-note transporting belts are stretched along the above bank-note guide slits from the leading ends of the bank-note guide slits so as to transport the inserted bank-note along the bank-note guide slits from the leading ends of the bank-note guide slits when the bank-note transporting belts are driven and rotated.
To achieve the third object, a third aspect of the present invention is a bank-note processing device comprising shutter means for opening/closing a bank-note transporting route, characterized in that the above shutter means further comprises a shutter slidably disposed toward the above bank-note transporting route, and a crank mechanism which converts the rotational driving force of a motor in one direction to a reciprocating motion of the shutter for the bank-note transporting route.